Timothy Alexander Guzman

Friday September 18, 2015

Washington wants Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa removed from power. Washington says it is concerned about the freedom of the press in Ecuador because their non-government organization ‘Fundamedios’ funded and supported by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and Freedom House among others is in the process of being shut down by the Correa government.

According to Telesur’s report on September 10th “Fundamedios engaged in 'partisan political activities' by sharing material on its social media accounts, publishing articles unrelated to its stated mission and inserting itself into political debates in the country,” which according to the National Secretariat of Communication or ‘Secom’ is prohibited under Ecuadorian law.

The White House released a press statement on the same day:

We are very concerned about the increasing restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of association in Ecuador, particularly the Ecuadorian government’s September 8 decision to initiate legal steps intended to dissolve Fundamedios, a non-governmental organization that monitors and defends press freedom.